OCD is a public-private, regional resource and management facility that contributes to the welfare of children, youth and families in greater Pittsburgh and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is underwritten by Pitt, the Howard Heinz Endowment, the Richard King Mellon Foundation and Pitt’s University Center for Social and Urban Research. It also receives funds for special projects from federal, state and local governments; private foundations, and individual philanthropists.

Led by co-directors Christina J. Groark and Robert B. McCall, the office collaborates with its constituencies to conduct projects in five domains: interdisciplinary education and training; interdisciplinary research and scholarship; human service demonstration programs, networking and strategic planning; program monitoring and evaluation, and needs assessments and policy studies.